BOULDER -- The 1988 cold homicide case of a Boulder County woman found in her burning Subaru near Ward has been reclassified as an accident, according to the sheriff's office.

Boulder County Sheriff's Detective Steve Ainsworth said a new review of the Shirley Driscoll homicide case, including extensive reviews from arson experts and other investigators, determined she died in an accidental fire.

Driscoll was 52 at the time of her death on Sept. 24, 1988. Ainsworth said detectives at the time did not find any accelerants for the car fire, which started near the front of the car, but she and her husband had a history of domestic violence-related problems.

The car was found near the bottom of her driveway, where it had struck a tree, he said. Ruts formed under the tires from her attempts to move the car, he said.

"It didn't make sense," Ainsworth said of the determination that her death was a homicide.

Driscoll was intoxicated at the time of her death and apparently had tried to move the burning car. The fire was initially difficult for firefighters to locate in the mountains. Ainsworth said the car burned for about 90 minutes before it was doused. Detectives were delayed reaching the scene because the car fire also started a small wildland blaze.

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Ainsworth presented new expert reviews of the case and his assessment to the Boulder County District Attorney's Office earlier this month. The sheriff's office now lists her death as an accident.

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